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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

INSIDE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL NOW

A good baseball fan knows their team inside and out. But they don’t stop there. They have to know what else is going on throughout the entire MLB. Here are a few players to watch:

Domonic Brown is simply on fire lately. The Phillies outfielder has been a wrecking crew all by himself these last two weeks. He has racked up 10 homers, 20 RBIs, and boasts a slash line of .396/.439/1.038. If he continues this white hot performance he will drag Philadelphia into the post season all by himself. Pitchers need be very wary of Brown.

Matt Moore, wunderkind starter for the Tampa Bay Rays, has hit a wall of late. He has lost both of his last two starts. His ERA from those games? An absolutely brutal 15.75. Quite a far cry from his magnificent start to the season.

In a previous article about Moore, during his headier days early in the season, I examined several intangibles contributing to his success. Things like BABIP and LOB%, and how those stats were showing he was benefiting from quite a bit of luck. The chickens have apparently come home to roost for Matt Moore. Nobody listens to me, and I am always right.

RED FLAG, YANKEE FANS!

At first glance, you may pass right over Jarrod Parker. This season he is 5-6 with a 4.68 ERA. Nothing special here, right?

Look again. Three of his wins came in the last 14 days. In that span, he struck out 15 and walked 5, sporting an ERA of 1.77. That get your attention? It should. Especially if you are a Yankee fan. He faces the Bombers on Thursday and the way the boys have struggled at the plate lately, Parker will give them fits. Danger, young Robinson!

Starlin Castro, what is wrong with you? The superstar shortstop from the Cubs seems to be shedding his elite status. His batting average is absolutely plummeting. It is .114 over the last two weeks, dragging his season average down to .250. He has stolen all of one base in that time.

If, like me, you are unfortunate enough to be stuck with this expensive layabout on your fantasy team, NAIL HIM TO THE BENCH! Castro will only hurt you right now. Play anyone else at short in the meantime.

Whatever problems the Kansas City Royals might have, Greg Holland is not one of them. The closer has sandwiched himself between Jim Johnson and our own Mariano Rivera as one of the three guys batters don’t want to see in the ninth inning.

Don’t believe me? That’s fine, Holland’s numbers speak for themselves. The last two weeks have seen him strike out 7 and save 5 games in 6 innings of work. His ERA is 0.00.

And that’s a quick glance around the league. Pay attention to how the Yankees do on Thursday.